For its three-year run, Houston’s Day For Night Festival was one of the most exciting events on the planet. Booking rare festival appearances by the likes of Aphex Twin, Bjork, and Thom Yorke along with showcasing discerning taste with performances by the likes of Nine Inch Nails, Kendrick Lamar, Solange, and St. Vincent meant turning a place like Houston, Texas into a surprising festival destination, truly doing something different in a landscape wrought with parity.
But as expected, Day For Night will not return in 2018, or possibly ever again. What seemed like an eventuality considering no details were released with just a few weeks left before its usual launch date has now been confirmed by the Houston Chronicle. As Uproxx reported in August, festival founder Omar Afra stands accused of sexual misconduct and employee abuse. The festival’s creditors decided to effectively remove Afra from the venture, and now the “assets and financial interests” of Afra being sold at public auction, including the branding and the intellectual property.
The money raised is not expected to come anywhere near repaying creditors, while Afra spoke to the Chronicle, saying “Is it a bunch of money? Yeah, it’s way more than I have. It’s also par for the course for building and launching something of this scope.”
As for the allegations against Afra, he sounds less than apologetic to in the paper. “Let’s get real here. If I was a barista, it wouldn’t be news that I tried to kiss a girl,” Afra said. “For this one fleeting moment, we were the best thing in the world, and it was great. But I think that the very fact that it grew so quickly and it became such a phenomenon is what put a target on it — and me.”
The festival’s future largely depends on who bids highest at the auction, but with the scandal surrounding it, it wouldn’t be surprising for the event to disappear entirely.
